Age of Consent in Germany

What is the Germany Age of Consent?

The Age of Consent in Germany is 14 years old. The age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 13 or younger in Germany are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape or the equivalent local law.

Germany statutory rape law is violated when an individual under age 21 has consensual sexual intercourse with a person under age 14 without exploiting their lack of capacity for sexual self-determination. Persecution requires a complaint from the minor.

Germany does not have a close-in-age exemption. Close in age exemptions, commonly known as "Romeo and Juliet laws" in the United States, are put in place to prevent the prosecution of individuals who engage in consensual sexual activity when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both partners are below the age of consent.

Because there is no close-in-age exemption in Germany, it is possible for two individuals both under the age of 14 who willingly engage in intercourse to both be prosecuted for statutory rape, although this is rare. Similarly, no protections are reserved for sexual relations in which one participant is a 13 year old and the second is a 14 or 15 year old.

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If you are a victim of sexual assault or statutory rape, call the 24-hour RAINN help hotline at 800-656-HOPE